Bearing and shaft assembly



Sept. 27, 1949. A LEE 2,483,345

BEARING AND SHAFT ASSEMBLY Filed May 17,"1s48' ARTHUR l.. LEE,

Patented Sept. 27, 1949 @unimo 1 Sms emana" *er Fei-o5 Arthur L. Lea'lUpper Arlington, .-L0hio, assignor to YThe J effreyj Manufacturing Company, a' .oorporation yof Ohio 1@riginal application May 321, .F1-945, Serial fNo. 595,048. -,.Divided.,and thisv'application Maly *17, `1948,.Serial'No. 27,552

-4 Claims. (015308-420) ,2 "Jlriis invention relates to a'belt idlerand par- `2"'linto-pwhieh Iis 'pressed a bushing -or sleeve i I4 ti'ciilaly to a.' bearing assembly jfor a lbelt idler. oiporous metal.

"It'lis .one 'object ,of .my invention to 'providean Adjacent the" inner end of "bushinggorfsleeve"|11 improve'djess expensive bearing and shaft-assemand-withinthe cylindrical bore 21 of the'ifhousbly jnluding in'telokingmeans 'to prevent -ac 15 ing or-easing I3is aelt-Washeror seal `I5'which eidental .removal 0f,;the ".bearing assembly from 'fits -on -the vsl'iaft II 'and which is Aheld `inthe theshaft Withoutanyrictional contactibetween housing ISbya'holding-ring I6-Which-preferably the-.interlocking means during operation-of the has 4apres-sint.Withithecylindricaldoore Z'in said devicehousing I3. -Thefinterior `ofthe,-housir 1g I'3-iis .Another objectf my invention ',is to lprovide 10 provided Witlra circumferentialohamber,*cavity an `improved `bearing"housing. or reservoir# 'l adaptedto-reoeive oil; `said reser- ,Aurther object o'f n iyinvention is 'to provide 'voir I1 having direct Acorrnnunieation--with fthe animprove .washerflike dp'adaptedztobe-seexternal cylindrical Vsurface-'of the-porousvbushouredlto a shaft and .including arms, wings or ingfi'so"thatflubrieatingoil Withinithe-reservoir lugsladaptedto co-Qperate'with aange Yof -a 'lo ll'oanireadiiy flow into the pores of' the said bearing "housing for preventing naccidentad `rebushing I4. '^A'130D-0Dening"by `Which'oil in'TO- .moval of the bearing housing from the shaft-to fducedixi-to the chamber `or'cavity I'I1is,olosed Whih the washer-likeV clip'isrigidly secured. `tigl'it-ly withjapi-pe plug -I 'orthellike-to prevent "Other objects o'f my invention Willk afppiar herelossfoilyan'd also'to-prevent entraneefofairand inafter the. novel'Teatures and combinationsbe 2o foreignmatterfinto-thechamber or'reservoirll'f'l. ing -setothtintheappended claims. fseenffinlFig. 1 of lthe drawing, :the-bushing "In 'the .accompanying drawing, off-'sleeve 1Ill is-fopen at Lboth Vends -and adjacent Figi 1 is an elevational View with parts in see- Aouter-end-is ;provided"with-a separa-te l:thrust tion,"shovv'ing.an idler and bearing assembly inmeans'in the "formoi a-plateffQ lpreferablymade corporatingthe jfeatures'ofgmy invention; 25 ofthe-same-material-as-the 1bushingor sleeve I4. ".iig.12"is;an'- endA ,viewof the device ofijignl; 'The thrust'plate I9 abuts -the-outer wall of `the and cylindrical bore "21 in v'the x`housing f-I13. rfAn oil Fig..3 is axpartial end view ofthe idler of Figs. groove lOr-sIOt'ZIJis cored orotherwiselformed vin 1` and? rWiththe"bearing assembly-removed the Lhousing I3 With-litsopposite endscommuni- `.This applicationds aidivision-of vmy cofpen'd- 'it eating with -diametrically `opposite -positions 'in in gapplication, SerialtNo."595;048lled'May121, the-chamber I\'lto-providefor the #flowfof oil to 1'945, for anI-dler and" bearing assembly. thrust-plate 1 I 9.

-It is'ito"be..understood -that theeonstruetion The Atheory-of;ope1;atior 1 1or v*the oilf1e,ss;fea and operation of ,thebearing and-shaft assembly tures-012i4 the bearing is -described and claimedin fithis.application'follows"that Qi my parent apmy parent-application.Serial No."595, 04`8,above plica'tion, above identified, .andthat only the subidentied. ject Ymatter pertinentstothe' present invention kis As Vseen in Figs, '1 and f2, asubstantiall portion described in :detail herein. Softheoutersurfaee'of easing or 4housing SIB -is Referringrparticularly .to Figs. 1 and4 2 of' lthe formed fas a'seg'ment of'a sphere soas to provide drawing, there is -illustrated -a 5be1ti'dler sup- '4o a rolling'bearing'fsurface-fwith a 4co-operating ported on and between-apair of-spaced stands, Usshaped 'bearingA surface-1=31l provided byI supbraekets orsupportsand-includingan idlerroller portingbracket or stand 2|. As seen #particu- IIJprovided-witha live shaftII 1Whiohis Welded )arly in Fig. V2, the spherical-surface13l referred or^6therwise rigidly attached to` the lspaced end to ;1ies Vbelow the axis of shaft y` I'I-/anvd extends plates '32 `of* theoylindrical -bodyof t-heroller I0. 'l through an arcfof substantially 180 degrees Where Live shaft II-has-end-portionsWhich-extend `outits ends vfair into-wings orfl'ugs'z 'that -tnsnug-ly wardlytherefrom andeachfof these endsfofthe between the spaced upsta-nding legs -29 oi-fthe shaftII lis-supported-ffor rotation b y a-bearing braeket or stand 24. Wings or lugs '28 intert assembly-42. eEach' bearingassem-fblyelz includes andino-operate fwith-the `Aupstandingilegs'lsof a 'housing-or -casing I3havingfa='cylindrical bore; the-supporting bracket or Lstand :2l to prevent rotation of the bearing housing I3 with respect to the supporting bracket 2| about the axis of shaft II. Because the bearing sits in the U- lshaped bracket 2| and because of its spherical supporting surface, the housing I3 is free to oscil late within the supporting bracket or stand 2|, but because of the co-operating wings or flugs 2S and the upstanding legs 2S it cannot rotate in the supporting bracket or stand 2|. Thus my improved housing and support therefor provide a self-aligning feature for each of the two spaced bearing assemblies I2 and the associated shaft I.

End thrust transferred by the shaft I to either housing I3 through the end thrust plates I9 .is also transmitted through a bearing surface in the form of a segment of a sphere which is directly opposite the end of shaft II and thrust plate I9, as seen at 22 in Fig. 1, to a thrust clip 23 rigidly attached to bracket or stand 2 I. This self-aligning feature is generally similar to that disclosed d removing it longitudinally therefrom. To provide f means to hold each bearing assembly I2 on the shaft I i thereby preventing its accidental removal and thus precluding its becoming lost when the idler assembly is removed from the brackets or stands 2|, metal spring clips 2d rigidly attached to the end plates 32 of the roller l0 and shaft II, as by welding or the like, are employed. As seen in Figs. 1 and, each clip 24 has a washer-like body that fits over the shaft II and is secured thereto rigidly as by welding it to its adjacent end plate of the roller body or the shaft II. Each spring clip 24 includes a pair of diametrically spaced bent over wings, lugs or hooked legs 25 which extend from the washer-like body substantially at right angles thereto and intert and shroud an adjacent outwardly extending peripheral ange 26 formed on the inner edge of the housing I3, that is, the edge or side of the housing I3 which ls opposite the spherical bearing surface 22 and adjacent an end plate 32 of the roller body.

The spring in the wings 25 of each clip 24 provides for readily interlocking them and the flange 26 by the simple expedient of placing the housing I3 on the shaft II with its flange 26 adjacent the inwardly bent free or hooked ends of the wings or hooks 25 and by bumping the housing to cause the wings or hooks 25 to spring outwardly over the flange 26 until the parts are in the positions illustrated at the right in Fig. 1 of the drawing. In this position it is obvious that removal of the housing I3 is not permitted without an operator inserting a tool or otherwise spreading the Wings 25 apart to free the interlocking relation between them and said peripheral flange 26. However, there is complete clearance between the flange 26 and the retaining clip 24 so that during operation'of the idler little or no friction whatever is developed by this interlocking means.

-"It is one function of Vthe spherical endbearing surface'22 and the clip 23 to retain the bearing housing I3 spaced upon theend' of shaft Il so that the end of the shaft II is always closely adjacentY orabutting the thrust plate I9 thereby maintaining the proper spacing of the hooked portion of the wings or lugs 25v with respect to Aic the peripheral flange 26. Because the idler roll I0 with its attached bearings I2 is carrried between the spaced supporting stands or brackets 2| and because the spherical surface 22 of each of the housings I3 is abutted by a thrust clip 23, the idler roll is at all times properly spaced between the supporting brackets or stands 2| and the proper clearance is always maintained between the wings or lugs and the peripheral flanges 26 of each bearing I2.

It will be seen that the cli-operating interlocking means 25 and 26 as well as the self-aligning and radial load and thrust load taking features are applicable to anti-friction bearings such as of the ball and roller type as well as to the bushed bearings herein specifically illustrated.

From the foregoing it is apparent that I have provided an improved bearing and shaft assembly which may be assembled at the time of manufacture and shipped with the bearings mounted upon the Yends of the shaft thereof and that the bearings cannot become inadvertently removed and lost during shipment and storage of the rollers. lIt is also apparent that because the bearings can only be purposefully removed from the shaft that they will be sealed against Vthe entry of dirt and foreign matter. It will be seen also that the placing of the bearings upongthe shaft is a simple operation in that the bearing is merely slid upon the shaft until its' peripheral shoulder 26 engages the inwardly lhooked ends of the wings or legs 25 and the bearing is then given a sharp bump causing it to spring the wings or lugs 25 outwardly and to snap over the peripheral flange 26.

Obviously those skilled inthe art maydmake various changes in the detailsV and arrangement of parts without departing from the lspiritand scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended and I wish therefore not to be restricted to the precise construction herein dis,-

'closed Having thus described and shown an embodiment of my invention, what I desire .tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A bearing and shaft assembly .including a shaft, a bearing supporting said shaft. for rota- 'tion relative thereto, a housing for said bearing, said housing having a peripheral flange. and a clip attached to said shaft and shrouding said flange to prevent its dropping off said shaft while providing for free relative rotation of said shaft and bearing.

2. An idler roll adapted to support a belt of a conveyer including a tubular body having spaced endvplates, a shaft extending axially through said body and end plates welded to the latter and projecting outwardly therefrom to receive a supportingbearing, and a spring clipv rigidly Aattached to each of said end plates, each adapted tosnap over a flange of a bearing housing receivedbyV each end of said shaft for preventing accidental removal of said b'earngs from Said shaft. 3. An idler roll adapted to support a belt .of

conveyer including a tubular body having spaced endl plates, a shaft extending axially through said body and end plates welded to the latter and projecting outwardly therefrom to receive a supporting bearing, and a clip rigidly attached to each vof-said end plates, each adapted to fit over aeiiange'of a bearing housing received by each end of'said shaft for preventing accidental removal of said bearings from said shaft.

LlfA-bearinghousing for a bearing adapted to support a live shaft of a conveyer roller includ- REFERENCES CITED ing an outer generally spherical end surface axially opposite a bearing receiving bore therein, lhf fgwgegerens are of record m the a generally spherical supporting surface below the axis of the bore, and a peripheral flange sur- 5 'UNITED STATES PATENTS rounding the end of said housing opposite said Number Name Date generally spherical end surface adapted to co- Re 22,882 Popp May 20 1947 operate with a clip carried by said live shaft 1,572 093 stebler Feb 9 1926 when in said bore for preventing accidental re- 13721577 Knap "Aug. 12: 1930 moval of said housing from said live shaft. 10

ARTHUR L. LEE. 

